Manipulating Court
by marilyngirl
Summary: Bash, Sophie, Mary and Francis have grown up and taken their places at court. Francis and Mary's Daughter Louise struggles to do what is right for her and not her country for once. Bash and Sophia's Daughter, Lilliana, struggles with the man who could ruin her reputation and her life
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Reign**

**Hello! This is actually a sequel to another story I wrote called 'Under the Shadow of Kings.' That story is about Sophia and Bash. This story is about Mary and Francis' kids as well as Sophia and Bash.**

**I listen to music while I write and what I listen to contributes a lot to what I write it puts me in certain moods. So I have decided to give this story a playlist; three songs a chapter. I love music and always like finding new stuff so if you think of a song that the story makes you think of or reading while listening I would love to hear it!**

**Any who! On with the story! And comments are greatly appreciated! I love to hear from you all!**

**Songs.**

**No angles by Bastille (I can only find it on youtube)**

**Shut up train by Little Big town**

**Patient love by Passenger**

**Louise**

Louise walked slowly down the hall to the throne room. Her parents would be waiting for her there.

Her Mother Queen Mary and King Francis; they both Ruled over France and Scotland. Her mother was the Queen of Scotland and her father was the King of France. They lived mostly in France and Mary's younger sister acted a steward of Scotland who was her aunt Josephine.

Her room was in the furthest room away from any of the others here. She liked to be alone. She was quiet and rather liked the quiet around her. She would tuck away and read and paint for hours and be completely happy.

However today she had been called to the throne room. Her heart had sunk when a page had come to deliver the message. She had turned sixteen last month and the threat of her parents marrying her off was looming before her like a nightmare that wouldn't leave after you had woken.

She had taken her time getting there talking to anyone that she saw. She normally would have kept her head down but she wasn't really looking forward to the conversation that would take place with her parents. But as she had gotten closer the people disappeared and she was going to have to face something that she didn't want to. So she glided across the stone floor; the hem of her blue silk dress slid across the floor as she stepped in front of the door.

She sighed as she pushed the doors open. Her mother was sitting to the side of the room with her aunt Sophia. They were engaged in a game of castles and Sophia yelled at Mary that she had cheated as Mary laughed and covered her mouth as Sophia shook her head. Her father was speaking to her Uncle Sebastian in low tones about something no doubt important. They all looked up at her as she came in and she stepped up to the thrones. Mary stood up and Sophia looked at her worriedly but his it behind her mask of calm. Her aunt Smiled at her.

"Hey Cinnamon." Her aunt called to her and she smiled demurely at her aunt. cinnamon was something only her aunt Sophia called her. She got along well with the woman. She was very brash and loud and she always made Louise laugh.

Her father and mother stepped forward and she curtsied to them. She heard the doors open again. She turned and smiled as her cousin walked into the room as well. Lilliana was the one person that she could talk to in this whole place. Her cousin winked at her.

Lilliana was every bit as loud and unpredictable as her mother Sophia. She was about a year older than she was. She had dark hair like her mother and olive skin but her eyes were the glass blue-green of her father. She was a mixture of both and had gotten her father's cunning mind and her mother's short temper. She was a beautiful woman but any man that got to marry her was in for a surprise. She had gotten Louise in more trouble than she cared to admit.

Louise wondered if she were a perfect blend like Lilliana of her own parents. She had copper hair that she had inherited from her grandmother Catharine. Her eyes she had gotten from her mother; they were dark brown. Lilliana had more womanly curves than Louise did. Louise was slender and willowy.

"I am glad that both you girls are here." Mary said as Lilliana stepped next to Louise.

"Are we going to be glad we are here?" Lilliana asked

"Lilly…" Sophia said in a warning tone but both Queen Mary and King Francis smiled at her. Lilly rolled her eyes but stayed silent as Louise stifled a laugh.

"Well we have visitors coming to the castle; special guests you could say." Francis took over. "The prince of Spain will be coming to stay along with two of his men."

"Giovanni is coming?" Sophia asked excitedly. Gio was Sophia's much younger brother. He would have been four years older than Louise. She had only met him once when she was rather young and he had tugged on her braids in her hair until they had come undone. She didn't recall liking him very much after that however Lilly seemed to be excited to see him so perhaps he was more pleasant now than he had been when she was seven.

"Yes." It was Sophia who spoke now. "Him Jon and Roberto also" Sophia said and Lilly's face tightened before she concealed it behind a mask that her mother also wore. Louise realized this must have been the Roberto that Lilly had a tryst with on her last visit to Spain. She would have to ask her more about it later if he was coming to the castle. She nodded at everyone her smile plastered on her face.

"Giovanni is coming to negotiate a marriage." Her father said and she looked up to meet his gaze. She swallowed hard but nodded at him and her mother. She would do what she was supposed to. That was her place.

"Pardon?" Lilliana asked horrified. Louise shut her eyes and willed her cousin to be quiet. She slipped her hand into Lilly's and squeezed hard and shook her head. She opened her eyes and willed her cousin to be quiet. Lilly nodded but her gaze was hard set. She would fight for Louise even when Louise didn't need her too or didn't want her too.

"I understand" was all she said to her father. "Is there anything else?" She asked. She tried to ignore the pained looks that they all seemed to give her. Sometimes she wondered if they wished she would break into an outburst like Lilliana. Because suffering in silence seemed to make them all worry as if they had known it before. Her mother didn't even speak she just shook her head. She nodded and smiled at them all as she turned to leave. She caught the look that Lillian gave them all. She could give a look of daggers when she wanted to. She turned and followed Louise out of the room.

When the door was closed and the walked back down the hall Lilly spoke.

"Lou, don't tell me that you are fine with this." She said quietly like she was already mourning.

"You are related to the man I am to marry are you saying something negative about him." Louise asked her. Lilly thought about that for a moment.

"No Giovanni is wonderful I adore him but you should have a say in who you marry." She said defiantly

"Daughters of kings don't get to choose Lilly." She said there was a bite to her tone that made Lilly be quite and she was sorry about that. "Of course I'm not okay with it but I must do it." She said to her and smiled as she made her way down the hall.

"Well, we will see." Lilliana said to her and she stopped and turned to her cousin.

"We don't need any of your crazy ideas getting us in trouble." She said but she couldn't help but smile.

"I'm not sure what you are referring to." She said walking away.er mother was the queen of Scotland and her


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Reign. **

**Please Read the Letter by Robert Plant**

**Believer by Viva Voce**

**Good girl by Lily Kershaw **

Lilliana walked back and forth on a half wall that reigned in the steps in the front of the palace. The intricate stone patters under her feet threw crisscross designs on the cracked stone. She glanced down at the sun patterns that made their way all the way down either side of the wall. There were stone figures the stood on top of the wall at five feet increments. It was between two of these that Lilliana was walking about three feet up of the stone walkway.

They were all figures of angels. Some had gruesome faces and looked more like the angels of death than the white winged protectors told in children stories. Some of the figures were missing parts of the,; some limbs parts of their garments and even some of their faces. Lilliana wasn't sure why but this made them seem all the more sinister. Liker the devil was looking out from the face of angels.

She almost laughed then. Thinking that some people thought that angels could be their salvation only to find something they didn't expect; perhaps something truly terrible.

Wasn't she waiting for her devil in disguise this very minute? Though she had hardly thought him an angel at any point in time. Her stomach erupted in a fit whenever she thought of that smile of his. Not in a childlike way when you get when you see a handsome boy looking at you; the kind you got when you know what evil someone is capable of; when you have experienced it first-hand.

Her hair was back in a net of pearls and she was wearing a bright green summer gown with white lace down the back. It was light and thin which was good in the heat but she was still wearing a laced corset and that made her breath short. But of course this was the way of the being a woman; to be utterly uncomfortable in order to satisfy the needs of men. They did so love to look at pretty things. Though rarely she imagined, did they think of the consequences for those around them.

She didn't have time to sulk about the discomfort of it all because Louise came out the front entrance. Lilliana smiled at her. She was a beautiful girl. Her hair was arranged perfectly in ringlets and half of it was bound up by a hair ornament made of gold and studded with a translucent stone of some sort. The yellow and white striped summer dress made her freckles stand out on her face. She was so graceful when she walked that it always reminded Lilliana of a breeze; lightly dancing across surfaces. The way she walked was as if she glided and she made almost no sound at all. Lilliana knew that that part was by design. Louise hated to be noticed excessively and she stayed mostly where people wouldn't see her.

Louise of course was unaware of how pretty she was and didn't know that people saw her no matter how hard she tried to blend in. It wasn't that she disliked people. She simply liked the silence too much. She enjoyed being alone with her thoughts.

Lilliana was afraid of being alone with her own thoughts. Two years ago she wouldn't have been but now there were things that crept back every time she was alone. The things that wouldn't leave her be.

"Are you ready my dear?" She asked jumping down from her perch and holding her hand out to her cousin. Louise smiled at her but didn't take her hand.

"Is it odd that I will be betrothed to your uncle?" She asked as they walked down the long stone steps. Lilliana smiled widely at her.

"It's not as if he is your uncle. He is my mother's brother. And it's not as if girls marring relations is odd." She said to Lou they reached the dirt road that lead all the way to the where they would wait for the men to arrive. "And he isn't an ancient old man either. He's twenty-two." They both kicked medium sized pebbles and watched them skitter away off the path as they walked in silence.

Lou because she enjoyed the silence and Lilly because she didn't want to break Lou's concentration; it had always been this way. One of them always confused by the others behavior but they loved each other more for it.

"Has he grown out of his braid pulling stage?" Louise asked quietly and it made Lilliana laugh.

"As much as you have grown out of the cat phase you went through when you were three." She retorted as the girl bumped shoulders with her.

"We decided not to speak of that." Lou said to her

"No you decided we wouldn't speak of it. I decided that it may need to be called upon if ever I need you to do something for me." Lilly replied. She was now walking backwards so that she could view her cousin's face.

"You are a despicable person." Lou said to her.

"So I have been told." She said as they reached the end of the road. It came to a half a crossroads where the other road led out to the iron gate that came to the castle. They lapsed into silence again as they waited to see the tail of dust that would be kicked up by their visitors.

Lilliana had comes to terms with their arrival. Almost anticipated it as a sort of challenge now. She would face Roberto with a straight face and not give him a foot hold into her emotions. She had done that at one point and look where it had gotten her. She was living in constant fear of the man and she never wished to put herself in that position again.

The trail of dust snaked above the treetops and both girls gave and audible sigh. They laughed nervously at one another. Neither really sure why the other was nervous but now was not the time to ask. They would talk later after they greeted their guests. After they had welcomed them with a dinner party tonight. Then maybe they would trust each other enough to tell the other what was really going on but then again perhaps not. They were each private for different reason. Each had their own fears that they were afraid to share.

As the men and their carriage with their things arrived both of their breaths quickened. They stepped closer to each other as a force of habit and watched as four men approached on horses. Two men in the company brought out the worst kind of fear in them. One was fear of the past and things that could be dragged into the present. The other was fear of the future and what it would hold.

The men rode up right before them as Louise curtsied to them. Lillian however stood as she was. She didn't know one of the men and wasn't afraid of offending him. She assumed it was their escort; the person that would be unloading the great majority of the large cart behind them. One of them she hated with everything inside her. Roberto; He looked as he always had with his light brown hair pulled behind him and tied perfectly and his light brown eyes that had once entranced her. There was Jon who was the broadest and tallest of them all but he was surely the quietest. His hair was dark and cropped rather short and his eyes were the ice blue that could cut you even while he was quiet. He had been a good friend to Lilliana while she had visited Spain. And last but certainly not least there was Giovanni who was her uncle but more like a brother or a cousin. His hair was dark brown and it curled at his temples. His eyes were the same dark shade of brown and held a glint of mischief that reminded her so much of her mother.

"You won't bow to the prince of Spain?" Gio asked her stepping off his horse

"Wouldn't want it to go to your head." Lilliana replied as she watched out of the corner of her eye as the three other dismounted and walked over to them. She embraced Gio so she didn't have to deal with the people coming toward her. He embraced her tightly and when he let go he stepped out and they both turned toward Louise.

The look on Lou's face almost made Lilliana burst out in laughter. She looked as if she would rather be anywhere else. Perhaps hiding in a stall with one of the horses or sitting in the freezing cold cellar. Yes Louise would no doubt rather be anywhere except here. Louise searched Lilliana face with desperation and Lilliana almost felt guilty. At what she was going to do for the next couple of weeks.

As Gio took Louise's hand and kissed it she thought of how she was going to get the two of them to fall in love. Gio was loud and witty. Louise was quiet and smart. Getting them together would be like trying to get the sun and moon in the same room.

Lilliana had given Louise the impression that she would try to get her out of her marriage. However from the second that King Francis had said that she would be married to Gio Lilliana thought it was the perfect ide. If she would have acted happy Louise would have expected something. Louise would expect her to fight for her freedom; so that is what she would show Lou.

However she couldn't have planned this any better. It had surprised her when she heard of the engagement but she thought that it was perhaps the most wonderful idea she had ever heard. She would had never put Gio and Lou together but the more she had thought about it the more she liked the idea. It would either be something terribly romantic and good or it would be a disaster.

"Hello Princes Louise." Gio said and kissed her hand again as she curtsied again. "You have perfect hands for kissing." Gio said with his accent that made everything sound charming. And as Lilliana expected to happen many times a blush crept up Lou's neck and made its way to her face as she retracted her hand quickly.

"It's just Louise if you don't mind" She said and held her ground very well. Louise smiled. There was a cold hand on her shoulder and she reached up and removed it swiftly before turning. Roberto stood there looking at her with his cold smile. Her there was acid in her throat as the memories he brought flashed in her mind. He took her hand and kissed it. His make her bite the inside of her mouth to keep from spitting on him. She would be polite and he would never know how he had devastated her. He took his time with her hand and she snatched it back as quickly as Lou had done with Gio. She curtsied to him.

"Lord Roberto." She said with a slight head bow.

Then Jonathan was there. He took her hand. He didn't kiss it but placed it in both of his. It was as if she knew her dislike of the feeling of Roberto's mouth on her hand and was wiping it off for her. He smiled at her. Jon's smile was never full. It was always a half smile as if he was hiding something from the world. She embraced him and he patted her back once before releasing her.

"You boys must be so very tired from your trip can we escort you inside?' Lilliana asked as they looked at one another. The man they had ridden with was standing to the back. "And you sir. " She called to him "Shall I get you some assistance?" She asked him and he nodded kindly at her.

"That would be much appreciated lady." He said bowing and she smiled as she took the crook of Louise's arm and they made their way to the palace accompanied by their guests.


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own Reign.**

**I can't Make You Love Me by Bon Iver**

**Sleep Alone by Bat for Lashes**

**Broken Hearts and Fairy Tales By Jake Coco**

**Louise.**

Louise walked next to Lilliana as they walking down a hell to show their guests to their rooms in the west side of the castle. Louise and Lilly were on the opposite side. As they walked Lou took in everything she could about the men that would be staying here. The interaction between them and Lillian was what really interested her.

Gio seemed to sincerely care for her. He protected her like a brother and the way they bantered back and forth it made her miss her own brother. Roberto however didn't seem to be a gentlemen at all. The way that he openly looked at Lilliana like she belonged to him was unnerving; The way that his eyes went up and down her body with something that she could compare to the way a wolf looking at their first meal in weeks. Lilliana wasn't unaware of it either and the looks that she shot him when she caught him staring were razor sharp. Her face suggested that she hated the man. Louise knew that she disliked him but the disgust that was registering on her face spoke of something else entirely. She wouldn't ask Lilliana what it was because she felt confident that her cousin would tell her.

The one called Jonathan was of the most interest to her at the moment. He was also sneaking glances at Lilliana when he thought no one was looking but of course Louise saw. Jon was looking at Lilly with a mixture of what Gio was showing toward her and the hunger that Roberto was showcasing. However When Lilly caught his eye she would smile at him with the same look she gave Gio; that of a brother. Louise thought that it was interesting that Lilly could easily pick up the lust and want from Roberto and hated him for it and yet she saw nothing of that in Jon.

They came to the first room which would hold Roberto. Louise walked to it and opened the door. It was the same as many rooms in the castle, however each of them had their unique points. This one had a ]leather furniture and red accents. Louise remembered her mother saying that her grandmother was very meticulous with how the rooms were decorated.

Roberto bowed deeply to Louise and turned to Lilliana who was trying to retreat but he took her hand. Before he could raise it to his mouth Lilly pulled it away with swiftness that Lou thought was impressive.

"I say that there has been quite enough of that." Lilliana said and a smile appeared on Gio's face; a smaller, but still visible, smile came to the corners of Jon's mouth. The smile that came to Roberto's face was an frightening thing and Lilly stepped back as he issued his challenge to her before nodding at them all before shutting the door.

They walked a part of the hall when Gio spoke up.

"You know Lilly he fancies you. You could probably have him if wouldn't be so stubborn and prideful." He said and she saw Lilly raise an eyebrow at him. "If you would use your feminine charms I am sure that Roberto would ask for your hand." He continued and Louise was surprised at his frankness. Though Lilly and her mother were both the same way.

"Well then I must be sure to make sure that I don't come to such a terrible fate." Lilly said

"Don't play coy with me Lilly. I saw the way you looked at him when last you visited last; as if he were a new dance to be learned." He said in jest as he bumped shoulders with her. She smiled good-naturedly but a small frown preceded that. The next room they would reach was Jonathan's. They were no more than a few feet from the door when Lilly made an excited tone. They all stopped and turned to her. She smiled up and Jon and took his hand and started dragging him in the opposite direction.

"Jon I simply must show you the library. The avid reader that you are you simply must come see it before dinner." He started walking at a pace that would allow him to keep up with her insistence. "Louise you don't mind showing my Uncle to his room do you? Of course you don't. I will see you both at dinner." She said as they disappeared around the corner.

It was just like Lilliana to leave Louise in this kind of situation without thinking. She didn't mean to do it she simply did the first thing that popped into her head constantly and most of the time the outcome was unpleasant for one or more parties. Today it was Louise who pulled up with the bad bag.

She looked up at Giovanni. Who in turn looked at her. He was rather handsome. He also looked as if he could get her into some sort of trouble. Louise wondered if it was the eyes. Or perhaps just part of his soul showing through his eyes. For wasn't it true that you could read someone's soul through their eyes? As she looked at him she noticed how his eyes matched his hair; which curled perfectly at his temples and framed his face. She saw that his mouth was curving up in a smile. She blushed and stopped openly staring at him.

"Do I pass whatever test of fire I was just put through?" He asked her as she herself smiled and began to walk. They walked a little ways until they reached the door and Louise walked in. She held the door for him as he stepped through to look where he would be staying for a while. This room had a huge framed map of England on one wall. The bed was one of the biggest in any of the rooms and had rods where sheer curtains of a silver fabric hung. They rustled every now and again with a draft coming from somewhere.

"This is perfect." He said to her and she just smiled again. "you speak even less than you did when I was here as a boy." He said stepping closer to her.

"Does my lack of speech offend you your highness?" She asked him honestly curious.

"Oh hardly." He said "though I do wonder why it is that you speak so little."

"I find silence to be an excellent tool." She said as he stopped a few feet from her.

"I find people who are silent to be a bit unnerving." He said matter of factly

"Why is that?" She asked him her smile was becoming more frequent the longer she was here with him.

"They take entirely too much time taking things in." He said now pacing in front of her. " They know things they simply shouldn't."

"Perhaps you should try being silent so that you can know things also." She suggested and at this he laughed out loud.

"No." He said still laughing. "I love to talk too much to convert to silence." He paused "However it always a good idea to be friend with one who prefers silence. That way one can talk and know everything."

"Is that why you are here Giovanni ? To have my friendship?" She asked. Her words held more emotion than she would have liked them too. They both knew why he was here.

"Perhaps." He said to her not giving into her taunt. "Only if I find you worthy of friendship." He said bringing the conversation back to smiles.

"Pray tell; what does a woman have to do to be proven worthy of your Lord's friendship?" She asked as she retreated to the door. He pretended to think about this.

"A woman must be an avid reader. She must be a good listener. She must love to go walking after midnight. This particular woman would have to have a very quick mind. And she must be beautiful so that I may have something to look upon so that I do not get bored with her woman talk." He said stoically but his smile gave him away. She opened the door and went to leave.

"I don't any of those qualities so I am afraid that our friendship is doomed." She said to him

"Alas it is a shame." He said nodding understandingly.

"If we are not friends shall we be enemies?" She asked

"I suppose that only makes sense." He said

"What a shame." She said with Mock sadness. "Though I wouldn't even deprive my enemy of dinner. I will send someone to show you the way if you do not remember."

"I can manage." He replied as she nodded.

"Pleasure to see you again my Lord." She said curtsying

"You also lady." He said as she shut the door and hurried off the her corner of heaven. She had talked more than enough for one day and she was sorely missing her books that she had left unattended by her bedside. She should go to the library and give Lilly a tongue lashing for leaving her with Gio but she wasn't upset in the slightest anymore and as soon as she saw those mischievous eyes of Lilly's she would forget all together. She would see her before dinner. She would come to have Louise help her dress for she couldn't stand to keep a hand maid.

So she made her way to her to retreat for a few hours before more social skills would be called upon.

**Jon**

Lilliana pulled her through the halls and didn't quit her fast pace until they reached the library. She threw the doors open and when she turned around to smile at him her cheeks were flushed and her eyes sparkled brightly.

She was everything he remembered her to be and more.

She had grown up in two years; quite a lot. When he had ridden up he had hardly recognized the woman that stood before him. But he recognized her now. She had the same glint in her eye and spark in her tone. She spoke her mind and left little to be mystery. He noticed that the princess hardly spoke at all. He had no doubt that it was because Lilliana spoke for the both of them.

However something was different with Lilliana. She was hiding something that had taken a little of her innocence with it. She had enough life for ten people however a piece of her was missing. She wanted to ask what it was but he would keep his peace as he always did.

He couldn't want her as he did. He shouldn't look at her like he had been coming in here. He shouldn't have the thoughts about her that he did while reading the letters that she sent him. He knew Roberto had his eye set on her. He had made that much clear on the way here.

Roberto looked at her as if she were a something that he could own; like some spoil of war that he could lock away in a tower and use when it pleased him. However if given that option Jon would lock Liliana in a tower as well, but he would lock himself up with her.

"Can you keep a secret?" She asked him. That shook him from his trailing thoughts. She was closer to him than he had thought originally.

"Of course." He said to her. From where he stood he could see down her dress and he averted his gaze. He walked to a shelf of books while trying to convince himself that he could not have her. However he hid his turmoil behind a mask of perfect indifference.

"I want a promise Jon. I know how you love to talk so." She said teasing him as she walked close to him again. She would not keep her distance from him. History taught him this. After all why would she. She had no reason to suspect that he wanted to take her in his arms. She was obtuse to his want of her.

"I Promise Lilly." He said using her familiar name as they both had done for a long time now. She touched his arm and he ignored the feelings that her touch stirred. She had noticed Roberto's eyes on her but she had rebuffed him This had made him a little glad but he knew that women did this to increase affection. For truly wasn't she doe eyed over Roberto two summers ago when she had come to stay at the castle in Spain. Anybody could have seen that. Was she merely being coy with Roberto now to make him chase her? Jon did not enjoy the thought.

"I aim to make Gio and Louise fall desperately in love." She said and he stared at her as she sat carelessly in a reading chair.

"Is that so?" He asked quietly. "I would have put a wager on you being against their marriage."

"Why would you think that?" She asked him looking up

"Perhaps because you have lectured me on the horrible fate of those who marry for politics and not for love' He replied looking at her as she bit the corner of her perfect mouth.

"That is why I shall make them fall in love Jon." She said "Will you help me?"

"Cupid" He said bowing low to her. "Any resources I have are at your disposal."

"Wonderful." She said getting up in a hurry and grabbing two books off the shelf and put them in the stack that he had already started for himself. "Perhaps you could read to me as you did when I visited Spain." She said with an innocent hope in her voice.

"Would that make you happy?" He asked her. It was a question within a question. He meant so much by it but again she did not grasp the meaning.

"It would." She said smiling up at him again.

"Then I shall comply, my Lady." He said anything to make her smile at him like that.


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not Reign **

**Dark Doo Wop by MS MR**

**The Great Escape by P!nk**

**Coming Undone by Korn**

**Lily**

No she wasn't happy. And no she was not going to pretend like she was.

Louise was in the corner giving her a look like she was an old miser who should be left in peace. She supposed that she deserved. She had snapped at the girl for nothing and startled her. Not bad enough that Louise couldn't send rude looks in her direction every once in a while. She rolled her eyes and turned to the girl.

"I'm sorry alright?" She said exasperated. "Having the men here makes me nervous and not in the very best of moods."

"Well that is hardly my fault and I don't really want to be snapped at for something I can't control." Louise said staring her down. For a girl who didn't like talking or confrontation she was sure being bold right now.

"I said I was sorry." She said covering her face with her hand while Louise put her head back into her book as she sat in the wide window sill. Lilliana realized it was going to take more than the usual sorry. She would have to get back into Louise good graces if she were going to help her get dressed. She walked over to the window and got down on her knees. "Oh great and wonderful princess Louise; I beg your pardon for my beggars mouth." She said dramatically. She saw a smile appear on Lou face before the girl squelched it and her frown returned.

"I don't think you are funny Lilly." She said sticking her face farther into her book.

"Yes you do." Lilliana said knowingly. "My great great lady I beg of you to g=forgive the sin that I have committed against you. I am such a fool to have spoken to you this way. Please come down from your glorious place up above and take time to forgive such a lowly one as me." She said as she threw her face onto the ground now and wailed as if she were crying."

"Oh do stop that." Lou said but she giggled and Lilly got up and smiled at her.

"Sometimes I cannot stand you." Lou said to her.

"Sometimes I cannot stand you." Lilly said honestly. "That makes us square."

Louise just shook her head as she got up and resumed lacing Lilliana's corset.

"Sir Roberto seemed very interested you.' She said and Lilliana went stiff. But apparently Louise was still upset about earlier because she started in on honor and duty and how Lilly couldn't honestly think she could be stubborn with her parents for much longer. "You know if Robert asks your father for your hand you can't refuse. There isn't any reason to other than you simply don't want to. Honestly sometimes I cannot figure you out." She said in her lecture tone that Lilly hated. Under normal circumstances she would have let Lou's word roll over her and not think twice about them. However the truth of what she said registered with her and tears started down her face. She tried to be still so that Lou wouldn't know she was crying but when no tarty reply came in response to her word Louise knew that something was wrong. She came around to face Lilly and she tried to look away from her but Lou took her face in her hand and forced her to look at her.

"What's the matter Lilly?" She looked horrified as if she had never seen Lilly cry before. Which Lilly thought was pretty close to the truth. "I didn't mean it." She said as she sat Lilly gently on the bed and Lilly tried to stop crying she honestly did but the sobs just continued to shake her as she realized if Roberto got it into his head to marry her he would get his way.

"Do you hate him that much?" Louise asked her as she put a hand on her shoulder.

Lilliana looked at her. She could tell her now or she surely never would. However if she told Lou and she told anyone else then Lilly would be ruined. But on the other hand if she couldn't trust Lou then who could she trust? If she kept this locked inside her it would turn her soul dark as it already started to. She had already noticed a bitterness toward all men. She fought it as best she could. After all she knew that not all men were Roberto. Perhaps if she told Lou it would make her feel better. The prospect of that still didn't make it any easier.

"Lou I am going to tell you something but you must swear to me that the story will stop here. I couldn't bear to have anyone know." She said and Lou nodded with the utmost seriousness.

* * *

Lilly walked the halls of the Spanish castle and admired the pictures of past rulers. She admired the women with their dark eyes and hair and the men with their serious faces and dark brows. She wondered if artists painted all rulers being so serious. There was not one picture where they were smiling.

"Why don't they smile?' She asked her companion Jonathan who always accompanied her if she had no one with her. He was such a dear man; for indeed he was a man but not much older than she. He towered over her and his broad shoulders that were tight with muscles from working hard. He always took great care with her and was a good friend.

"Would a smiling ruler demand respect?" He asked her. She looked up at her uncle's friend. Her uncle was a few years older than her as well and was a bright spot in her life as well.

"You never answer my questions." She mock pouted. "You answer them with a question. If you answer at all. Why do you do that?" She asked him. To this he said nothing and began to walk on. "You see!" She shouted at him and a small smile came to his face and she shook her head at him "I am sure you do that on purpose." She said. She looked up at another portrait. "If I were to be painted I would surely smile." She said to him.

"Would you?" He asked and as she gave him a look his who face slipped into a smile.

"Yes I would." She said "Give me your Jacket." He gave her a questioning look but did as she asked and she took it and walked over to a plush chair set in the hall. She draped the jacket over her shoulders like a long royal train (it almost was as it was so big) and stepped up onto the chair. She situated herself to the side like the woman in the portrait. She held her head high and held her hand out as if holding a scepter. She looked very stoically at him for a few seconds and he smiled up at her. Then she relaxed her posture and softened her gaze and smiled down at him.

"Sir Jonathan!" She commanded clearly and he smiled at her and kneeled in front of her.

"My lady." He said and she jumped down and kissed his forehead.

"See, I think that smiling commands something that a serious face can't. Smiling commands devotion." She said as she offered him her and he squeezed her fingers. Jon would never kiss her hand as most gentlemen did.

'I think yours would." He said simply as she took his jacket off and handed it back to him. She smiled at him as they began to walk again making small talk and occasionally commenting on a painting.

Then suddenly Lilly stopped her heart beating fast. Jon took a few paces without her and turned back to question her gaze. At the far end of the hall a man sat in a chair looking at a blueprint or map of some kind. Lilly's stomach fluttered. And Jon nodded knowingly. Though she couldn't help thinking that he looked a little disappointed in her.

"I could find reason to go down the other way." He said to her. There was no humor or light in his voice but Lilly was soaring. She slipped her hand into his and squeezed his hand while nodding.

"Thank you Jon." She said to him as he only grunted and turned back and walked the opposite way down the hall. She watched him for a moment and then faced the direction she would go now. Her heart was beating faster now as she saw Roberto still in the chair.

She thought of how she had met him three times now on the front steps at night to watch the stars. The first time had been an accident the other two times had been planned. Last night he had kissed her. It had made her heart jump into her throat and she had had to stop him as he pinned her to a stone pillar. Men were known to run away with their passion though. He was handsome to be sure and titled. She could do much worse she supposed and he did make her heart flutter with that look of wanting her that he wore.

She made her way down the hall and questioned if she should speak to him or if she should simply walk past him without a glance. She saw him put his paper down out of the corner of her eye and decided to go on as if she didn't know she was there. As she walked by him she felt his gaze run slowly over her form as he did. She felt something in the pit of her stomach. She wondered if this was the starting of love.

"Lady Lilliana you walk alone." He stated and when he spoke she turned to him and smiled demurely.

"I do." She said defiantly. "I don't need to be supervised all the time." She wanted so much to be grown up. She had just turned sixteen years old and she wanted to be a woman in someone's eyes. The way that he eyed her was not like a young girl so she supposed that she had succeeded. He stood up and left the map on the chair he had been sitting on. "I was going to the library.' She held his gaze.

"Perhaps I will go with you." He said as he walked up to her and brazenly put his hands on her hips. Her stomach dropped as she stepped back.

"Perhaps you will and keep your hands to yourself." She said smiling as she began down the hall. He walked behind her eyes on her the whole time. The library had been her and Jon's destination after all and wasn't much further down the hall. As she reached the dark cherry doors she pushed them open and walked in as she heard Roberto shut them behind him.

"Do you read Roberto?" She asked him walking over to a shelf full of jewels waiting to be read.

"I do not." He said his voice had changed. She turned to him as he looked at her hungrily it scared her a little.

"That's a shame." She replied trying not to let him intimidate her.

"Did we come here to read Lilliana?" He asked his voice low as he made her way over to her as she backed up until she was against the shelf but he still advanced on her

"That is what one does in libraries I believe." She said "What did you come here for?" She wished she hadn't asked as he pressed her flush against the shelf. He took her mouth roughly with his and kissed her hard. He didn't stay there long as he kissed down her neck roughly and down her neck. He pushed her dress aside to kiss her breast and she pushed him away to straighten herself upset with him now.

"This is hardly appropriate. " She said but that wasn't the entire reason. He was being rough and careless with her and she didn't want him at that moment. But the momentary pause didn't do anything to him because he came at her again this time he twisted both her hands behind her and held then there with one of his. She cried out at the pain of her arms being bent back. He let her hands go but pressed her so tightly to the bookshelf that she couldn't get them out. The shelf dug into her arms and she cried out again as he covered her mouth with his hand.

"Too bad you got rid of your watch dog." He said using his other hand to stroke the side of her face. She thought she was going to be sick. He ripped the fabric of her dress on her shoulders to expose her corset. He pressed himself tight to her as he kissed the skin just above the corset. She was trembling now with a palpable fear and she began to cry as she tried to struggle against him.

He took his hand off her mouth long enough for her to scream "Get off of me!" He put his hand back on her mouth as she tried to scream but they all came out muffled.

"Someone was bound to hear that, how naughty of you." He said and he shoved her into the bookshelf more which brought a wave of tears to her eyes as they bit into her wrists. She could not stop crying as he began to lift her skirts. She still tried to struggle but he was too strong and he still had one hand while she had neither of hers.

Her tears slipped out of her eyes and down her cheeks and over her hands as he smiled at her delightedly. He pulled at her undergarments as she tried to kick him but he had her pinned too close.

"Oh hush now this will won't take long you beautiful little thing."

* * *

Lilliana fell silent as she remembered the rest of the story. She wouldn't go into details with Lou. She was already staring at Lilliana with horror.

"He ruined me." Was how she explained it "and when he was done he laughed at me as I fell to the floor and cried. When I was done I got up and slapped him across the face which you can imagine he didn't take kindly too and threw me into a table which is how I got this." She pointed to a scar the length of her middle finger on her upper arm. "So yes it would be truly awful to have to marry him though at this point I don't see that I have many options."

"You tell your father!" Louise shouted at her and it startled Lilly. "You tell Giovanni! Surely he wouldn't let him get away with it!" She was outraged "He would make him…." She petered off as she realized what the problem was.

"Yes Gio would make him take responsibilities for his actions and marry me." Lilly said sadly. "I I say something they will make him marry me and I would be ruined for anyone else. If I don't say anything people will wonder what my objections to him are if he asks my father for my hand."

"Undoubtedly he will based upon the way he was looking at you earlier. He has had you once but it seems as if that weren't enough." Louise said and cringed at how her words sounded but Lilly hardly noticed.

"If he tells someone it secures me to him. I cannot marry anyone else." She said it and for the first time she tried to come to terms with the fact that she would have to marry that man. She began to cry again. Louise lowered her head into her lap and stroked her hair until she had no more tears left.


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own Reign.**

Louise

As both girls walked down the staircase Louise reigned in her anger that boiled her blood. Staring at her older and sometimes impetuous cousin she needed to mask the anger for Roberto that she herself had laid claim too. And a strong claim it was. At this very moment if he were to show his worthless face she would give him a piece of her mind. This is why she would get herself under control. She had promised Lilliana that she wouldn't say anything to anybody and she would not break that promise. No matter how much she thought telling somebody would help she would not tell.

She looked instead at her beautiful cousin walking down the stairs in front of her. She wore a deep purple gown that was the color of port. It had lace trim at the bottom and a full skirt of white underneath. Her hair was up and twisted in only a way that Louise could have done. She smiled remembering how much the girl had complained that Louise was hurting her. However she would never let anyone else help her get ready; same went for Louise.

She herself was dressed in a black dress with long lace sleeves. The dress came up around her neck and around the collar where the top seam should be was a silver choker studded with pearls. Her hair was almost all the way up save a few copper curls that hung down her neck and around her temples. This was Lilly's favorite thing to do to her hair. When she would pin her hair up like that that she looked like the queen of autumn; if ever there was one.

They made their way down to dinner. Lilliana stopped short and hesitated a little before going down. Louise looked over her shoulder and saw the three men standing at the bottom of the stairwell. They continued down and Roberto extended his hand for Lilliana to take his hand. There was no hesitation on her part as she took his hand. Louise wondered if she had accepted her fate so easily and quickly. Or if she was simply trying not to upset him; Either way it left a bad taste in Lou's mouth as he smiled at Lilly.

Gio was there waiting for her as she descended the steps. His hand was stretched out to meet hers as she took it with a nod. He gave her a once over but didn't say anything about the way she was dressed; though it was apparent that he approved. She was glad that he did though she wasn't sure why. This was a political aligning and had nothing to do with how she felt. She could have been paired with Roberto. The thought made her shiver. For all she knew about Gio he could be the same kind of man. She didn't know anything about him.

But the way that he took her hand was gentle and kind enough and his eyes with all their mischief held kindness also. He reminded her so much of Lilly. He pulled her to his side and secured her there with his arm linked with hers. She watched as Jon lead the group. She watched Lilly and Roberto in front of them. Roberto's hand was on her lower back in slipping close to inappropriate. Louise's blood began to boil again.

"See something that interests you?" Gio leaned down and whispered. That snapped her to attention and her head went straight up and she bumped her head into his nose.

"Oh." She said as he came up fast. "I apologize." She said turning red and looking ahead.

"No need it seems I startled you. I will try not to do that in the future." He said and she avoided making eye contact with him. "You worry for my niece." He said and she rolled her eyes. He wasn't going to leave her alone one way or another she was going to have to talk to him. She looked up at him and then focused on walking without tripping; which was rather difficult with this dress as it turned out.

She smiled at Jon who opened the door to the dining room. Everyone was already there sitting politely at the table. There were five place settings that had yet to be taken as Gio guided her to two that were next to each other.

"You don't mind sitting next to me do you?" He asked while she took her seat and he slid her chair in. On her other side was her aunt Sophia. She turned and winked and Louise smiled at her. She looked up and Lilliana was sitting down right across from her with Jon on one side of her and Roberto on the other. She crossed her eyes at the girl and they both hid a laugh.

"Lovely to see you all getting along so well." Francis said from the head of the table. Louise smiled at her father and poured herself a glass of wine. Lilly nodded as if that was perhaps the best idea that Lou had ever had.

"yes you all seem to have made each other's acquaintance." Mary said after taking a bite of her first course. Louise supposed she was waiting for a response of some sort or someone to start a conversation. She supposed that Lilly would be the first to speak but she was wrong.

"Yes your Majesties we have all been introduced and find each other's company well and not lacking." Giovanni said raising his glass to the queen and king.

"We have all met each other that much is true." Lilliana said giving Louise a look. Which Louise returned with her own glass raise of her own.

"That girl always has to put her opinion in there." Louise heard Sophia say to her husband on the other side of her.

"Doesn't she remind you of someone?" she heard her uncle Sebastian whispered back to his wife as she shook her head and they kissed chastely. This was how Louise liked to spend the evenings she had to be down here. She liked to watch everyone converse with each other. And as the ice was broken talk flowed freely from each person at the table as they spoke and laughed. The king and queen as Giovanni many questions and her uncle and aunt laughed at something or other. There were three other men opposite the table who were on her father's board of advisors. They talked amongst themselves occasionally asking Jon something about his father's land along Spain's borders.

She watched as her father and mother's hands always came back to one another's. When their hands brushed they both smiled at one another. She didn't know much of their engagement only that they had an arranged marriage. Surely they hadn't loved each other before and now there was no denying that they did. Her aunt Sophia and Sebastian were the same way. Except they never released each other's hands under the table. It had always been this way. She had not heard the story of their engagement either but they seemed truly happy. Perhaps there were fates worse than hers; for truly she had only to look across the table to find one.

Roberto was talking to Lilliana and Lilliana finished off a glass of wine and continued to pour herself another one while not giving the slightest notion that she was even listening to him. Until that is he asked her a question

"Have you had any suitors come asking for your hand?" He asked and Louise saw the color drain from Lilly's face behind the wine goblet.

"She won't have anyone." Sebastian said. "She had had three proposals and she had a reason for turning down each one. As her father I am not sure how to go on I had two other children and neither as hard as she is." He said it with affection but Lilliana narrowed her eyes and Louise wished he hadn't talked. The smile that crept over Roberto's face wasn't something anyone could miss.

"Perhaps the right person hasn't come along yet." He said eyeing Lilliana

"Perhaps not." Jon Said and the whole table went silent. Louise smiled at him and raised her glass to that. Lilliana turned to Jon gratefulness for saving her and she bumped his shoulder lightly. He said no more he didn't even acknowledge that she had touched him just went on eating.

The evening passed slowly for Louise. When it finally concluded she was standing by the door waiting for Lilliana who was currently talking with her mother Mary. Lilly kissed Mary's cheek and walked toward Louise. She winked at her grabbing Gio arm along the way and pulling him with her.

"Lilly I have to talk to your mother about something do you think Gio could escort you to your room?" She asked with those big eyes of hers.

"I don't need to be escorted." She said quietly cursing her friend for the second time that day.

"Oh yes Ladies never walk alone unattended at night.' Lilly said to her matter of factly

"Hm" was all Louise said as she raised an eyebrow at her cousin. She couldn't count how many times Lilly had run around the halls at night. Lilly smiled and turned around and Louise was yet again left in the company of Giovanni the man who liked to talk. She was now regretting the decision that her room was so far away.

She opened the door herself and stalked through it. The door closed behind her and Gio strode up next to her.

"That was a nice evening." He said and she frowned they weren't even a minute out of the room before he started talking.

'Yes it was." She said. They walked a few steps more.

"Stimulating conversation" He said.

"Yes." She said again. Clipping any niceness from her tone; she was tired.

"The table decorations were exquisite." He said and at that she stopped and looked up at him. He was smiling teasingly down at her and she smiled and shook her head.

"Are you going to insist on talking all the way there?" She asked him.

"People do like to talk while in other people's company." He responded.

"Not me." She said smiling up at him again waiting for what he was going to say.

"I have noticed that; My enemy who doesn't speak. That makes me a bit nervous." He said

"Well I have an enemy who talks all the time." She said looking at him. "That makes me nervous."

"Well how ever are we to be married?" He asked her and the conversation turned serious. They walked awhile without her answering. They took the stairs and when they reached the top of the stairs she turned to him.

"Why do you want to marry me?" She asked him.

"To secure Spain and Frances alliance" He said "We have been on shaky ground lately even with Sophia's marriage to Francis's bastard brother."

"Don't call him that." She said sharply and covered her mouth instinctively. This is why she didn't talk. She was always getting in trouble. She began to walk again to her room at the end of this hall and up another flight of stairs. It was a long hall for uncomfortable silence.

"I didn't mean to offend you." He said and she simply nodded counting the paces until she reached her room. He stopped then and she turned to him. "I only met you today but I do intend to ask your father for your hand and we will be married." He said this so matter of factly and it nicked something inside her and made her upset but she kept silent. "It's not exactly how I pictured my life to be either but the easier you make this the better it will be. I don't need womanly wiles getting in the way of what my country needs." He said as they walked and she took a breath before speaking.

"I will not be spoken to as if I am some child that can be put in the corner while the men sort things out." She said and they both stopped.

"You won't be bored we will give you something to sew or stitch." He smiled at her. He was teasing she new but there was a hard edge to her voice as if that iss what he expected from her to sit by and let this happen without any say so from her. "I didn't mean to…' But she put a hand up to stop him.

"I have given you no indication that I will make this any harder for you. I feel duty to my country and will do as I am told." She started walking with her again but she motioned hi away. "Furthermore my silence is not because I don't like you. I am silent with everyone even your niece so do not accuse me of being unfriendly. I can go by myself from here." She said leaving him in the dimly lit hall.

"Does that mean you like me?" He hollered after her


	6. Chapter 6

**I do not own Reign**

**Thanks for reading! Please review and tell me what you think! **

Clown By Emeli Sande

Salty Sweet by MSMR

Crave you (remix) by Flight Facilities

Lilly sat in the dining room very early in the morning. She had needed to take her breakfast somewhere where she wasn't going to be bothered. She had found out that her room wasn't the sanctuary that she had thought it was either. So she had entered the big room for the second time in a short time and set her food down in front of a chair and sat down pulling the marker out of her book while absent mindedly taking a bite of her pastry. She propped her feet up on another chair and made herself comfortable.

She had rather enjoyed dinner a week ago with everyone. She had sat two chairs down from where she was now. It hadn't been completely horrible. Though sitting next to Roberto hadn't been the most wonderful thing in the world she had been saved by Jon. He sat here as he normally did not speaking unless spoken to. However his presence seemed to bring her much confidence. She felt safe when she was with him.

She laughed to herself when she thought of the look on Louise's face when she had left her with Giovanni. The following moment she had received her silent wrath as the girl seethed. If a few silent mornings was all she had to pay for Louise's happiness she was more than willing to do it.

She took another bite and put her book down closing her eyes. She started to plan her day out. If she didn't organize her thought now she would be scatterbrained all day long. She was interrupted when the main entrance door opened. Her eyes opened slowly as she turned to see who had found her. As soon as she made eye contact with the man she took her feet off the chair and sat up straight.

"You are rather hard to track down for this early in the morning." He said setting his hands on her shoulders. His cold sank into her bones and froze her heart.

"Had I known you were looking for me I would have found a better place to hide." She stood up quickly to get his hands off of her.

"Oh such contempt from the pretty little thing" He said and she stepped away from him. Once upon a time her heart would have skipped a beat when he called her that. Now it made her sick.

"What do you want?" She asked looking out the window directly in front of her.

"Do I need a reason to come find you?" He asked her. She didn't respond. Anything to make him go away she thought. Anything to make him leave here forever and never come back. "I was surprised when your father said that you have turned away several suitors." She heard him pull the chair away and he placed his hands on her again. "Have you been waiting for me all this time?" his hands held her arms in place as she kissed the bare skin of her shoulders.

"Don't flatter yourself." She said pulling away from him and stepping away from him. "I loathe you with so much of me that there is no room for anything else." He smiled at her outburst. He loved this kind of attention. She shouldn't have said anything.

"And all this time I thought you spent longing after me." He said but she said no more as she went to leave. She wanted to impale him and she would if she was around him a moment longer.

"What would you say if I told you I asked your father for your hand?" He asked her. Horror washed over her again at something that she had known would happen.

"Does it matter what I say?" She asked him from across the room.

"Such a quick learner" He responded "of course it doesn't matter. I have had you and now you are mine." He laughed at this and she forced herself to stand there listening to him "You were always mine and now I will have you."

"Good Day Sir Robert." She said opening the door and walking out calmly.

She walked swiftly to the library another quiet place of hers. She was surprised that she made it all the way to the room shutting the doors behind her before she started to cry. She hated herself for crying. Roberto made her hate herself. She hated being the weak one that needed taking care of but the thought of waking up next to him every day made her inside go into a permanent twist. She braced herself on the edge of a table and cried. Her father would call her and tell her of Roberts's proposal. He had been so upset with her when she refused the last one. She couldn't do that to him again. Not that she could. This wasn't an option with Robert. He marked her and she was his Just as he had said.

Someone cleared their throat and she cursed herself. She hadn't bothered to check if the room was empty. As she looked up Jon's eyes met hers from across the table and she almost choked. He questioned her with his eyes. They held pity and sadness. She couldn't stand it. She hated being pitied. She could not take it from Jon. One of her dearest friends was looking at her like a wounded animal. She Roberto even more for this.

"Can I not be alone anywhere?" She asked him and he just looked at her and took steps toward her as she wiped tears from her face. She turned to leave. He placed his hands on her shoulders. His hands unlike Roberto's were soothing and warm.

"Lilly." Was all he said as he pulled her to him. She began to cry again at his warm tone. Like he promised that he would take care of her. He pulled her to a couch in the middle of the room. He sat down and sat her next to him as he wrapped his arms around her shaking form. His broad form covered her. He just let her be until she had no more tears to cry. She was still for a long time while he stroked the top of her hand with his thumb.

"I can't marry him Jon." She said closing her eyes against his chest. "I hate him. I don't mean to be dramatic but I think I might rather die than Share Roberto's bed for the rest of my life." Again he said nothing but let her lean on him.

After a while he got up from the couch and she looked up at him as he picked up a book. He came back to her and let her settle back onto him before he started to read to her.

Later her father called her to his room and her heart sank when the servant had told her.

She had left the library earlier with every ounce of pride shattered. Her face had been hot from crying as she got up from the couch and tried to laugh her outburst off and blamed it on womanly hormones. Jon looked at her unconvinced as she backed out of the library completely embarrassed. Jon had called after her but she had hurried to her room. Was there anyone in this whole place who she hadn't made a fool out of herself in front of?

Jon would think that she was the most temperamental woman in the whole place. He was just much too nice to tell her straight out. And the way he had read to her for an hour before she had left. He was some sort of saint. Of that she was convinced. She was sure he had better things to do than coddle a child while she threw a fit.

She stood in front of her father's door and raised her fist to knock but held it a ways away. However she would have to go in some time so she knocked softly.

"Come in." Her mother's voice called from inside. Lilliana opened the door and stepped in shutting the door behind her. Her father was laying on a made bed as Sophia stood up looking in a hutch of dresses.

"You called me." Lilly's tone was clipped.

"The tone of your voice suggests that you know why." Her mother said from inside the hutch.

"On the contrary I have no idea what I am here for." Lilly said mocking her fake social tone.

"How are you my dear?" Her father sat up not and came around to stand in front of her.

"I am well father. How are you?" She asked him and he smiled at him. It was hard not to smile with him. Lilly loved her father. He was one of the best men that she had ever met.

"I am well thank you Lilly." He said. She decided then that she could cause him no pain by refusing to marry Roberto. Defiance from her had put a few of the grey hairs on his temples. She would have to marry Roberto and fighting it would do nothing but cause heartache.

"I have news." He said kissing her forehead.

"Do share." She said but her tone was still dry and her mother quirked her mouth at her.

"Roberto has asked for your hand." He said lightly. He danced around the subject like she was a newborn baby calf. Not that she could blame him. She had been awful when he had brought the topic up before.

"Yes I know." She said looking up at his surprised face.

"You do?" He asked her

"Yes I do he told me." She said still emotionless as possible.

"And do you plan to accept him?" He asked as her mother watched the exchange.

"Do you wish me to?" She asked him. He didn't respond to that just watched her with a critical eye that she though saw everything. She turned before he saw what was really troubling her. "You can tell Roberto that I accept him." She said getting to the door.

"I haven't told you all of my news Lilly." He said and she turned back to him confused. "Roberto came to me two days ago to ask for your hand. The reason I told you today is because this afternoon Jon came to see me." He said and her stomach dropped. Would Jon have told him what she said in the library? "He has also asked for your hand." Lilly was suddenly very dizzy.

"What?" She asked him no longer able to hold surprise from her tone "he what?"

"So I wanted to give you time to choose." He said to her. 'Shall I still give your answer to Robert?"

"No!" She said very quickly and her father and mother smiled at her

"I mean not yet." She said as she walked to the door again. Her head spun. Jon? Why had he done such a thing? To save her? How could he have done this?

"Tell me when you know"' Her father came to her in her haze


	7. Chapter 7

**I do not own Reign.**

**Come Home by One Republic**

**You're too Weird Fruit Bats**

**Shoot the Moon By Norah Jones**

It was late afternoon when Lilliana walked into her room.

"Lilliana where have you been? I have been looking for you all day I had to call a hand maid to help me dress. Do you know how long it has been since I had to do that?" The girl just looked up at her blankly.

"What?" She asked her in an almost dazed kind of way.

"I said I had to call someone to get dressed who wasn't you." Louise said coming around to face the girl as she sat down. "What's wrong with you Lilly?" She asked looking at her cousin.

"He asked my father for my hand." Was all she said and Louise nodded at her with compassion.

"You knew that was going to happen." Louise said putting her hand on the girls shoulder.

"I did?" the girl asked but it was still as if she wasn't in the room.

"You told me he would." Louise said slowly. "You said Roberto would ask for your hand." That seemed to snap Lilly awake as she raised an eyebrow at Louise.

"I'm not talking about Roberto." She said to Louise as she stood up.

"Oh." Louise said and looked confused as Lilly began to pace. "Who are you talking about?" She asked though she thought she already knew. The look that Lilly gave her of complete confusion almost made Louise laugh.

"I'm talking about Jon!" She almost shouted throwing her hands up in the air.

"Roberto didn't ask for your hand Jon did?" Louise asked in mock confusion.

"They both did." Lilly said looking at her again before she continued to pace.

"Well how interesting." Louise said unable to hold her laughter back. Some of it escaped and Lilly looked at her like she was completely insane.

"What do you find so funny?" She asked and Louise regained composure.

"Nothing, nothing I am sorry. I realize that this isn't funny." She said but she couldn't help but smile. There was no better solution than what had presented itself right now. "So you marry Jon. Then you don't have to marry Roberto."

"If only I could just decide like that." Lilly said to her shaking her head.

"Well why can't you?" Lilly asked confused. It was apparent to her that Lilly had no idea how Jon felt about her.

"What Jon did was sweet. But it was rash and he didn't think about his decision." Lilly said and Louise was now raising an eyebrow at her,

'Why do you say that?" She asked her.

"Because, He is doing this for me." Lilly tried to explain.

"Yes but I still don't understand." Louise said

"He knew that marrying Roberto was something that I was dreading so he stepped into save me." She paused looking at Louise for re assurance but Louise just shook her head at Lilly. She wasn't sure what the problem was. "He is offering to marry me so that I won't be miserable. But what about him. He deserves to marry someone who he picks. Not marry me because I cried about how hard my situation is."

"Perhaps he picked you." Louise said looking at the girl and Lilly pursed her lips. Louise thought it was amazing that she couldn't see how Jon felt about her. How she couldn't see how he stared at her when her head was turned. "Don't you like him?"

"Of course I like him. He is one of my dearest friends." Lilly said sitting directly on the ground now. "That's why I can't let him do this."

"Yes because marring you would be such an awful fate." Louise said "If he is such a good friend then I'm sure he feels the same way about you. Is there anything you could ask for that would be better than marrying a friend? It would be better than the alternative." She tried to reason with her.

"I can't do this to him." She said

"Do what?" Louise asked her frustrated

"Louise if I care about him like I do how could I marry him." Lilly said "I am not…." She paused searching for the words. "Whole." Then Louise began to understand. This all came down to the fact that Lilly perceived herself as broken. For in truth that is what she was. Louise loved her more than anything but in the sight of tradition and in the eyes of all the court broken is what she was. If anyone found out, the only person she could marry was Roberto.

"Perhaps you should tell him." Louise suggested again Lilly raised an eyebrow at her again.

"What would that accomplish?" She asked

"Perhaps he won't care if he is your friend." Louise said and Lilly put her head in her hands.

Later Louise was walking outside to go to the pond that was in the back of the castle. She had tried to get Lilly to go with her but the girl just shook her head. So it was almost dark and she was going to sit by the edge of the water for a while by herself and think. Or at least that is what she thought.

She was headed out the front door when she was knocked into Giovanni and Roberto. They were coming in as she was going out. There was a lot of bumping and running into one another as Louise tried to regain her composure. She stood up straight as both the men offered bows and apologies. She curtsied and dismissed their apologies as she slid her way out the door. She heard Gio say something to Roberto and the door close behind her.

She smiled at the prospect of being alone as she added a hop to her step rushing down the stairs and turning to go around the castle.

"Where could you be going alone at this hour?" Gio called from behind her. She stopped about halfway down the grey stone stairs and turned around to see him descending after her.

"What are you doing?" She asked as he came closer.

"Well in all fairness I think I asked you first." He stopped two steps above her.

"I'm going somewhere." She said as he waited for more. "Alone." She emphasized as she continued down the steps.

"Well going any place alone is never a good idea." He said and she heard him coming down the steps. She thought about running but that hardly seemed ladylike. So she stopped again.

"I like to be alone." She said "I think I have told you this before."

"Why would you want to be alone when I am offering to accompany you?" he asked and he looked honestly confused.

"You are such a joy to be around I'm not sure how anyone could turn you down." She said turning away and going toward her destination.

"That is how I feel." He said matching her steps. She kept her comments to herself and tried her best to ignore him. So they walked in silence; for about three minutes.

"Where are we going?" he asked her.

"We will be there soon enough." She said to him. She wished that she could be how she was with Lilly with everyone but she trusted Lilly enough to be exactly who she was and she really didn't know Gio very well though she didn't hate him. She just didn't understand why he had to talk so much.

"If you would just tell me then I wouldn't have to wait." He responded and she tried not to roll her eyes.

"Perhaps you need to wait for something." She said quietly but not quietly enough for him not to hear.

"Okay I won't ask any more questions." He said and she smiled. If she didn't have to talk to him all the way to the edge of the pond it would be the best gift that she had gotten all day. And true to his word he stayed quiet all the way till the edge of the pond and she smiled as she watched the moonlight dance over the water like a bunch of lights. She sat on a tree stump that she had frequented. She loved this place.

"This is beautiful." He whispered and she just nodded. He stayed silent for a long time. He earned points there. He sat down on the ground next to her and they watched the water for a very long time.

"Thank you for being quiet." She said surprised that she was the one who broke the silence.

"I can adapt. This is a truly wonderful place." He said smiling up at her. "Do you come here often?" he asked her.

"When the moon is full like this it is perhaps my most favorite places." She said

"I can see why. France's castle has many hidden gems." He said

"I'm sure Spain is beautiful." She said turning to him.

"Yes, it does have its moments." He said.

"What is your favorite spot in your home?" She asked him.

"You seem to be warming up to me." He said smiling again.

"You were silent for me so I suppose that I can carry a conversation for you." She shrugged

"How gracious of you" He said and she shook her head as she waited for an answer. It took him awhile to say anything. "We have a forest by my home. Much like you have here. There is a hollowed out tree where I played as a boy. I still go there to think sometimes."

"That sounds nice." She said

"Yes." He said "it is but I do prefer to be with people rather than being alone."

"Now that I don't understand." She said and she fully turned herself on the stump to face him. "people are too unpredictable."

"Isn't that the best part about it?" He asked her

"Not for me. The only person I can rely on is myself." She said

"You seem like you like my niece quite a bit. It seems to me like she is would be unpredictable" He countered and she had to think for an answer to that.

"She is very unpredictable." She said thinking. "But she won my heart." She said simply because that was the truth and it was perhaps the only reason. Lilly had completely made her love her and Louise had no other way to say it.

"I will have to ask her how she managed to do that."


	8. Chapter 8

**I do not own reign **

**Picking up the pieces by Paloma Faith**

**Repo Man by Ray LaMontagne**

**Volare by Dean Martin**

Jon

He was had waited for her to confront him about what he had done for three days. For three days he hadn't even glimpsed her in passing. It was as if she was deliberately avoiding him. She wasn't in the library her usual times and when you asked around for her nobody seemed to know where she was.

But he knew her very well and one morning he got up before the sun and got dressed. He walked the floors of Frances' castle. He made his way down the stairs. He passed two servants getting ready for the day and he nodded to them in passing but made no conversation. He turned the knob of the door to the library very quietly. He shut the door just as quietly and scanned the room rolling his eyes.

Just as he had thought Lilliana was sprawled across a chair with her eyes closed and a book open on her chest. One of her legs was on the couch while the other was on the floor with a slipper and part of her leg showing. She was wearing a night dress and her coat night coat was thrown over the back of the couch. He smiled at her in her disheveled state. The lamp that she had brought down with her burned on a small table behind her as she watched the book rise and fall with her breathing. She let out a small sigh every four or five breaths.

He wondered if he should leave her there then. She had gone to a lot of trouble to be alone here and he didn't want to wake her from her sleep. However he wasn't going to be ignored for the next three days either. So he picked a book of one of the near shelves and took Lilliana's light. He set in on a table and began to read. The sun came through the window to the back of him and he saw Lilliana stirring out of the corner of his eye and set the book he was reading down.

She stretched out on the couch and brought her arms up over her head. She took the book off of her chest and bent one of the corners and set it down next to her. He watched as she stretched her neck with probably felt awful from falling asleep on the couch. She sat up and put her hands on her knees. She took a deep breath as she stood up. He did not speak even then because he was too taken by her figure. In her thin night dress that was slightly askew from sleeping she looked something more than beautiful. Her dark brown hair tumbled around her shoulders unbound by anything. It tumbled down past her shoulders as she took it in her hands and twisted it over one of her shoulders. She straightened herself reaching for her night coat.

Jon cleared his throat and she froze mid reach. He smirked as her hair fell in front of her face and she stood there for several seconds. After that she straightened and pulled her hair back once more. She turned to him but was still silent as she grabbed her coat off of the couch and put her arms through it.

"Hello." She said tying her coat around herself and turning to him. He said nothing and she shook her head and crossed her arms but just stared at him and he fought the urge to laugh. She looked like a little warrior with that serious and stubborn look that she gave him. "I have to go get dressed." She said turning around and going toward the door.

"Lilliana." He said and she turned around again to face him

"Yes?" She asked acting like she didn't know why he was there. And they just sat there again because she was too stubborn to talk and he wasn't exactly sure what he wanted to say. "Jon if you have nothing to say to me then there is no point in me standing here now is there?" She said to him but she didn't move.

"I haven't seen you around here." He said still sitting.

"It's a big castle." She shrugged.

"Is it?' He asked her and he saw her mouth set into a hard line. She hated when he asked questions like that. He did it just to watch her expression.

"Did you come find me for a reason?" She asked him "or are you just going to sit there and talk in riddles like you always do?"

"Have you spoken to your father?" He asked her and he visibly saw her take a breath as she placed her thumb and forefinger on the bridge of her nose.

'Yes I spoke to him yesterday and I plan on speaking to him today. In fact most days I speak to my father. Isn't that fascinating?" She asked him and he did smile now. Being with her would never be boring that was for sure.

"It is." He said and still said nothing more because nothing frustrated her as much as this did. He saw irritation flash across her face as she stalked over to him angrily and he stood up to meet her.

"What?!" She practically shouted at him. "How could you do this to me? Without telling me you just go and ask my father if you can marry me? I looked so stupid Jon just sitting there like a dolt while my father told me the news. I was completely unprepared and I had nothing to say. I never have anything to say. I always can think of something." She said hitting him lightly on his chest.

"Yes I have noticed that." He smiled down at her. But she wasn't amused at all and she continued her rant.

"You could have at least told me." She said and then something popped into her head. He could tell by the way her eyes narrowed at he as she advanced on him as she spoke and he backed up. "Never mind the fact that you didn't tell me Jon. What about the why. Yes I think we should discuss that. What were you thinking?" She asked him and as he backed up he realized she wanted an answer.

"What was I thinking?" He asked her. She now had him up against a wall as she was shaking her finger at him.

"If you are doing this because you feel like you need to protect me Jonathan let me tell you something. I can take care of myself and I don't need you to take pity on me. I don't need to be saved because I cried like a child. I had one moment where I was week but I don't need you to save me now. I don't need saving. I can marry Roberto and be completely fine." She said to him

"Can you?" He asked her and she hit him again.

"Stop asking question. You know how much it irritates me." She said and sighed. "I can marry Roberto Jon. I thank you for what you are trying to do for me but I cannot allow you to do it. It was very thoughtful and kind but the other day in here…." She pointed to the room and then decided how to go on. "That was an overreaction and I don't need your help." She said and she started to step back but he grabbed her hand.

He watched her as she looked up at him. A mix of confusion anger and indipendance crossed her face along with something that had always been there, affection. He knew that she cared for him but what was the extent of that was. One thing was for certain she thought that his asking to marry her was because he was trying to save her from Roberto. But perhaps the other day had just been an overreaction. Maybe she had decided that she wanted to marry Roberto. However he had a mind to tell her that he wasn't offering to marry her because he was trying to save her. He intended to tell her that he was just as entitled to her affections as that horses ass was and he wouldn't mince words.

But as he opened his mouth to say something she must have seen some sort of determination in his eyes because she pulled her hand away from and now she was the one retreating from him. He stepped forward but she scrambled back.

"I didn't do it because I was trying to save you." He said she was not backed into a table and she jumped up and say on it like she was going to scramble across it but he grabbed both her arms and secured her in place. Her lack of movement and the fact that she was trap did not affect her mouth.

"Well then why did you do it?" She asked looking up at him defiantly with her lips pouted out and her eyes set on him. "Let go of me and explain yourself. There is no reason for you to ask me to marry you." She said trying to free herself from him but she decided against him and just looked up at him and raised an eyebrow at him. "Well?" She asked and he smiled at her. "This isn't funny Jon you have disrupted my emotional life and…." She didn't get a chance to finish because he interrupted her by capturing her mouth with his. He let her hands go to put them on her face. When he let her go she pushed him away. But held on to the collar of his shirt. He wouldn't force him to accept him so he just stood there with bother her hands tangled in his shirt as confusion washed over her perfect face.

"What?" She asked and he smiled again and slowly brought her toward him again slowly. This time she didn't fight him. Her hands moved around his neck as she smiled the second time that he kissed her.


	9. Chapter 9

I do not own Reign

" Must we go to this?" Louise called out to her cousin who was looking for a piece of clothing in a trunk. She took her head out long enough to give her a look that asked her if she was serious before rolling her eyes and she continued her search.

The girl may have thought that Louise was joking but she was completely serious. There was nothing that she hated as much as she hated parties like this. She hated the people. She hated the noises. She hated the dancing and the pointless conversation. But most of all she hated the fact that people pretended to like people that they couldn't stand at things like this. These social things were always so fake that it made her head hurt just thinking about it now.

On top of this Lilly had put her in a pure silver gown with jewels on the collar. It was much to gaudy for her taste but as usually Lilly ad insisted and now she was stuffed into a dress that she hated. Lilly came over when she was done with a silver crown that she wove into Louise's hair as the girl huffed about everything.

"I despise that." Louise said as the girl fixed it in her hair.

"Yes I noticed by how you tried to bury as far in your trunk as you possibly could." Lilly said smirking. She was wearing a simple strand of pearls in her hair and a crème gown that complimented her olive skin. It had a row of rhinestone buttons down the back Louise saw as Lilly turned around to grab something else.

"I feel ill." Louise said pleading with Lilly.

"Oh no you don't." The girl said coming back and forcing her to her feet. Louise could practically taste her excitement. Lilly was on the other side of the scale. She lived for these kinds of social gatherings. She had been talking about nothing else since two days prior and had picked Louise's outfit a day early. She was bouncing with anticipation as she shoved Louise out the door and down the hall. She was walking very fast and she kept having to stop so that Louise could catch up with her.

She had been in a rather good mood the last couple days. She wouldn't tell Louise what it was that had changed her demeanor but something had changed. She wasn't fooling her. She hoped that she had decided to accept Jon's offer of marriage. She had faith that the boy would see past the fact that Lilly had been with Roberto. She thought him to be a wonderful man.

Lilly was tapping her foot at the bottom of the stairs as Louise took them very slowly before she stopped.

"Oh I forgot something in the room. You go on ahead and I will be right behind you." Louise said as Lilly gave her a look.

"Come on Lou. Don't ruin this for me please, please hurry up." She said shaking her hands at her. Louise rolled her eyes but continued down the stairs as Lilly took the crook of her arm in her own

"I feel you would have so much more fun without me." She pouted as she grimaced at the door to the great ball room.

"Never." Lilly said before she stopped outside the door. Louse recognized this as her giving Louise a change to gain composure. She was giving her a few moments to prepare herself for the onslaught of horrors that were to come.

"I'm ready." She said to her as Lilly pushed the doors open and Louise fought the urge to run away.

Just as she thought the room was full of people already dancing and sweating and talking. The noise was horrible. The smells of food and perfume filled her nose as she frowned, going over all the faces that she saw. Not many that she cared for. But her cousin was smiling as wide as she possibly could as she pulled Louise into the room. They were both offered glasses of wine which both accepted. Louise drained her glass and grabbed Lilly's as she drank all of hers too.

"Is that how you intend to deal with this?" She asked but she giggled

"Any other suggestions?" She asked but Lilly only answered by picking another glass up and taking the two empty ones from Louise. She handed her the third glass as a duke came up and asked Lilly to dance. She heartily agreed making sure that Louise was okay. Louise shooed her away almost halfway done with the third glass of wine. She found herself a comfortable little corner of the room as she watched everyone.

She sometimes wondered why it was that Lilly always had men asking her to dance and that she never did. Lilly said it was because at balls Louise had the expression of an upset dog. Louise could not argue with that. She hated these things and she was not very good at pretending that she liked them. She tended to stand in a corner the whole time unless her father came to call her to dance or if she was obligated to dance with a guest. She would stand here until Lilly came to collect her at the end of the night and she would do her best to forget that this had ever happened.

She picked up another glass of wine and took a bite of a chocolate croissant. She had placed herself perfectly in front of the food table and up against a wall. She leaned on the wall with her pastry in one hand in one hand and her wine in the other as she took the whole scene in. The warm effects of the wine were hitting her harder than she anticipated and she supposed she should eat something else if she didn't want to feel light headed.

"How many of those have you partaken of?" A voice called and she felt genuine dislike fill her person as she turned to find Giovanni standing there looking at her smugly. She swallowed a bit of croissant before answering him.

"So many ladies in this room and you come to ruin my evening?" She said and almost covered her mouth with her hand. The wine had given her a freedom that she normally wouldn't have taken. But she stood behind what she said.

"I came to find my bride to be." He said. "Your father is to announce out official engagement tomorrow."

"Oh how I long for the hour." She said rolling her eyes and leaning back against the wall.

"You are much more fun to talk to with wine in you." He said and she scowled at him.

"Our engagement doesn't not mean you must be faithful to me." She said shooing him away much like she had with Lilly. "You can save that for marriage." She said taking another drink of wine. "Even marriage doesn't make some men faithful."

"You are very opinionated." He said

"Am I not allowed to be?" She asked "Would you rather have a silent wife?"

"I was just not expecting it after so much silence." He said smiling at her with so much self-confidence "I rather like the spice that comes out of you under the effects of alcohol."

"Then you would like me at balls for it is the only way that I can tolerate this lot of people." She said setting her glass on the table in front of her. "Would you dance with me?" She asked completely out of character.

"I am sure that I could manage that." He said offering her his hand

"Don't step of my feet for goodness sakes. My toes already hurt from being shoved into these ridiculous shoes." She said following him to the dance floor.

"I shall do my very best." He said as they got in line for the next dance that was about to start.

Lilly was across from Louise and she gave Louise a questioning look. Louise just shrugged and spoke to Lilly with a glance.

_Why not?_


End file.
